Obviously,
there are a few ways of going about this. Some are pretty common and
others are ways that some people in the know strongly advise against. This
decision, of course, is up to you. I practice all these methods.
First, and easiest, is to purchase extra dog or cat food when it's on
sale. If you've already got animals, you're there anyway, and picking up
some extra when it's at a good price allows you to bring that extra food over to
your area shelter or animal rescue organization. Some people will feed a
stray that hangs around their neighborhood. They not only do this to feed
a hungry animal, but they use it as a lure to catch the animal and spay or
neuter it, then find it a home. For those of you who run across a stray
and they won't come to you, having some food kept in your car will at least give
the animal something to eat, then you can call an animal rescue organization or
local shelter to tell them you've located an animal and maybe they can come over
to that area and try to retrieve it.

Please,
please, please give careful consideration to the idea of bringing a pet into
your home. Some people will adopt an animal on the spur of the moment and
then find themselves not prepared for it. Thousands of animals are brought
into shelters every day by owners who realized they made a mistake. Choose
your pet carefully, as well. How much room do you have? Is there a
backyard? Will you have to walk your pet a few times a day? Do you
have the time for that? There are many questions to ask yourself.

www.petfinder.org
will help you locate the animal shelter closest to you. It's a great site
and can give you plenty of information on locating lost pets, too. If you
try and locate your local shelter in the yellow pages, try looking under
"Animal Control" if you can't find what you're looking for under
"Shelters."

Here's
a great one in New Jersey. S.T.A.R.T.
(Save The Animals Rescue Team) is a non-profit animal rescue organization out of
Little Falls founded by Annette Lamberti. All their work is done by
volunteers, people who care. They provide adoption services, public
education, foster care programs, spay / neutering of stray and abandoned
animals, feeding and rescuing of homeless animals and veterinary care for sick
and injured animals. Their purpose is to find loving homes for abandoned
and homeless animals. They also try to bring to the community an awareness
and respect for animals.

They could really use any help you can give them, including donations, foster
homes, pet supplies and pet food, new members and volunteers. If you'd
like to make a donation to S.T.A.R.T., please send it to:

Of course there's PETA. People
For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals care for the well-being, safety and
protection of all animals. They are the champions of animals that are
suffering in labs, circuses, entertainment and anywhere animals are mistreated
and killed.

The
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is another great organization.
They support the advancement of medicine without the use of animal
experimentation. If you enjoy donating money to charitable organizations
that support research for disease, PCRM can send you a list with the names and addresses of charitable organizations that DO and DON'T
test on animals, just so you're aware of who you're donating your money
to. Please support organizations that do not use animals in their
research. To get your own copy of this list, or to find out more about
them, here's the address.

PCRM
5100 Wisconsin Avenue N.W.
Suite 404
Washington, DC 20016

Here's a scan of my list.

There's a terrific book put out by the folks at PETA (People for the Ethical
Treatment of animals that can help you in your quest to find out which animal
organizations do the best work and make the most use of your money. The
book is called "You Can Save The Animals" and you can purchase it
through PETA. They also have a great
book called, "The Shopping Guide for Caring Consumers" which will tell
you about the products you buy, and whether or not they test those products on
animals.